Tom Rosenthal: ?????????

Giving your show a bewilderingly confusing title may appear to be an act of wilful self-sabotage, but it proves a cunning move by Tom Rosenthal. That line of Cyrillic script adds an air of useful mystique to his agreeable, well-crafted and occasionally innovative brand of standup, while also abstracting the fact that he’ll be taking on the not obviously ticket-shifting topics of a) Bulgaria and b) football.

This is that rare show that gets infinitely better as it progresses, to the extent that the best gag is in the closing credits, and missed my many. The general thrust—which eventually becomes apparent after a slightly ramshackle intro—is his experience in Sofia filming the ITV2 sitcom Plebs. That sounds ripe for objectionable jingoism, but actually proves to be surprisingly fertile ground as the comic ponders the cultural differences between, say, Plaistow and Plovdiv. Positivity abounds.

The football theme is flagged up via his shirt-laden stage set, and centres on his trip to see a Bulgarian international game. If you’re a fan it’s funny and insightful, but will leave many as cold as a Sofia winter. Personally I was more flummoxed by the video game references, but they fly by fairly quickly and it’s worth hanging in there for the big guns he brings out later: a lengthy but increasingly successful visual bit, and intimate stories about Danny Dyer, his Plebs colleague.

Frequently impressive, if Rosenthal can hone the nervy first third as the run progresses he’ll have a fine show on his hands.